Sentiment among Japanese large manufacturers improved at the end of the year, quarterly survey results from the Ministry of Finance showed on Monday.
The business survey index of large manufacturers rose to 5.7 in the fourth quarter from 5.4 in the preceding period.
Meanwhile, the BSI of non-manufacturing companies declined to 4.4 from 6.0. As a result, the BSI of overall industries dropped to 4.8 from 5.8 in the third quarter. Both manufacturers and non-manufacturers forecast business conditions to deteriorate in the first quarter of 2024. The outlook index of manufacturers posted 1.3 and that of non-manufacturers came in at 4.1.
